1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a portable electronic apparatus, especially to a portable electronic apparatus with an NFC application.
2. Description of the Prior Art
More and more electronic apparatus are embedded with near field communication (NFC) devices. For example, a cellular phone can be embedded with an RFID reader. Please refer to FIG. 1. FIG. 1 shows a cellular phone 100 embedded with an RFID reader. The cellular phone 100 comprises an RFID reader module 110 coupled to its corresponding antenna 120, a cellular phone module 130 coupled to its corresponding antenna 140, and a battery 150. The RFID reader module 110 comprises an RF interface 111, an RFID reader controller 112, and a storage unit 113. The cellular phone module 130 comprises a user interface circuit 131, a processing unit 132, a memory device 133 and an RF front 134.
The RFID reader module 110 is utilized to communicate with other NFC devices. For example, the user can use the cellular phone 100 to read RFID transponders or RFID tags on products to collect product information. In addition, the user can use the cellular phone 100 as a paying apparatus to enter a subway station or an MRT station in which an NFC device is set to check the user's identity. The RF interface 111 is utilized to receive and transmit RF signals through the antenna 120. The RFID reader controller 112 is utilized to process the received RF signal and generate signals to be transmitted by the RF interface 111. The storage unit 113 is coupled to the RF reader controller 112. The RF reader controller 112 accesses the storage unit 113 when necessary.
The cellular phone 130 comprises a user interface circuit 131 through with the user can manipulate the cellular phone 100. Signals received by the RF front 134 through the antenna 140 are then transmitted to the processing unit 132. The processing unit 132 also generates signals to be transmitted by the RF front 134. The memory device 133 is coupled to the processing unit. In the cellular phone module 130, the memory device 133 is usually the subscriber identity module (SIM) card of the cellular phone 100 in which a card number, a personal identity number, an identification code, and etc are stored. The processing unit accesses the memory device 133 to write data or obtain required information. Please note that the processing unit 132 is further couple to the RFID reader controller 112 of the RFID reader module 110. When a user uses the cellular phone as a paying apparatus to enter the station, the NFC device in the station requires checking the user information. Therefore, the data stored in the memory device 133 which is capable of representing the user should be sent to the NFC device in the station through the RFID reader module 110. As a result, the required information such as the SIM card number is read by the processing unit 132 and then written into the storage unit 113 under the control of the RFID reader controller 112.
The battery 150 powers the elements in both the RFID reader module 110 and the cellular phone module 130 through the power line. Since the RFID reader module 110 and the cellular phone module 130 share the same battery 150, once the battery 150 is empty, the entire cellular phone 100 including the RFID reader module 110 and the cellular phone module 130 is not working. This situation may be a risk happen to a user who uses the cellular phone 100 continuously after entering a station via a NFC check-in system. If the battery becomes empty before the user arrives at the destination, the user will have problem leaving the station.